Enlarge image
Signpost to the Gorki Theater in Berlin
Photo: Jörg Carstensen / picture alliance / dpa
The Maxim Gorki Theater and a dramaturge have reached a settlement at the Berlin stage arbitration court.
The employee had sued because her fixed-term contract had not been extended.
"The parties have ended the legal dispute through a settlement," announced the arbitral tribunal on Wednesday.
The employment relationship ends in the summer, the dramaturge is to receive a severance payment of 15,000 euros in return.
According to the court, the employee had asserted that the non-renewal of her contract violated the prohibition of disciplinary measures and was related to a letter of complaint from several employees against the director for abuse of power and bullying.
In addition, she is discriminated against as a woman on parental leave.
A spokesman for the theater had denied the allegations last week.
DER SPIEGEL reported on allegations by former and current employees at the Gorki that they criticize a toxic working atmosphere.
The »Süddeutsche Zeitung« had also reported on the suspicion of abuse of power.
Director Shermin Langhoff did not want to comment on these allegations last week.
In the reports neither names were given nor any other adequate information "that would enable Frau Langhoff to comment on the incidents - should they have occurred", a theater spokesman had announced at the time.
Furthermore, for reasons of personal data protection, she was prevented from entering into any conflicts in detail.
According to the Berlin Senate Culture Administration, there were complaints from several employees at the end of 2019 that were received by the Senate Administration via the Themis trust center.
A mediation process had taken place.
As a result, there were "organizational and structural changes" in the Gorki Theater, said a spokesman for the Senate Cultural Administration.
At the end of 2020, Langhoff's contract was extended for a further three years until 2026.
The extension will give "the artistic work at the Gorki Theater, which is recognized beyond Berlin, a reliable planning perspective".
feb / dpa
